2 terrorists killed in overnight encounter in J&K’s Kulgam

Operation Akhal is the third major encounter in the last seven days; two terrorists were eliminated during Operation Shivshakti on July 30 and three on July 28.

Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Saturday, officials said.

A CRPF vehicle moving past people standing on a roadside during an encounter between terrorists and security forces in the Akhal area of Kulgam district on Saturday. (PTI Photo)

The overnight encounter began after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in a forest area at Akhal in the south Kashmir district, following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists there.

After an initial exchange of fire between the two sides on Friday evening, the operation was halted for the night, the officials said.

The cordon was strengthened, and additional reinforcements were rushed to the area.

Firing resumed on Saturday morning, during which two terrorists were killed, the officials said.

The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists are being ascertained, they added, noting that the operation is still underway.

Operation Akhal is the third major encounter in the last seven days. Earlier on Wednesday, two terrorists were eliminated during Operation Shivshakti, in a gunfight with security forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, following an infiltration attempt. The encounter began on Tuesday night in the Kalsian-Gulpur area after Indian forces intercepted a group of terrorists attempting to infiltrate the border.

One of the terrorists was identified as Suleiman, the mastermind of the Pahalgam attack, while the others were identified as Afghan and Jibran. All three were senior operatives of the Pakistan-based banned group Lashkar-e-Toiba. (With PTI inputs)